Recaps

Princess Xu Jiujiu visited Lin Qing’s soul tool shop, Pin Dao Dao, after learning that his Careless Missile rivaled a more powerful model despite its cheap materials. She placed a huge order and invited the eleven-year-old level 4 soul engineer to come to Star Luo National Academy.

• Xu Jiujiu explained to Grandma Manyi that the Careless Missile’s power came from a Gold Element transformation, not from the cheating applicant who had presented it.
• Xu Jiujiu entered Pin Dao Dao alone and asked Lin Qing for his newest soul tools, offering to pay extra.
• Lin Qing showed her his level 1-to-4 soul tools and agreed to produce one hundred of each of six level 4 models.
• Xu Jiujiu paid a one-million-gold-soul-coin deposit, mostly in rare metals, and told Lin Qing to deliver the first batch to Star Luo National Academy.
• Xu Jiujiu learned that Lin Qing was eleven, challenged his claim to be a level 4 soul engineer, and reminded him to come to the academy.

Lin Qing absorbed rare amethyst copper to cultivate and reflected on his machine-element martial soul and its costly talents. After Grandma Lin urged him to leave their shop and pursue his future, he considered joining Star Luo National Academy instead of Shrek Academy, where his sister Lin Lan had not returned from her break.

• Lin Qing devoured two chunks of amethyst copper, using his Gold-Eating Beast talent to turn their Gold Element into soul power.
• Lin Qing recalled how his machine element granted him Metal Sublimation for enhancing soul tools and Gold-Eating Beast for accelerating cultivation, though the metal costs strained his family.
• Lin Qing brought dinner to Grandma Lin and listened as she worried that Lin Lan had not returned from Shrek Academy or sent word.
• Grandma Lin asked Lin Qing to visit Shrek City, check on Lin Lan, and consider enrolling at Shrek Academy.
• Lin Qing argued that Star Luo National Academy's Soul Tool Department better suited his talents and said its princess had offered him admission and a million Gold Soul Coins as a deposit.
• Grandma Lin encouraged Lin Qing to leave Pin Dao Dao and choose whichever academy would best support his future.

Lin Qing witnessed the Netherworld’s guardians transfer a seed of its rules into his Sea of Consciousness before they were defeated, then woke to find his Soul Power had reached level forty. After setting out from Star Luo City, he arrived near the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for a Soul Ring.

• Lin Qing encountered a skeletal dragon and Blood Flower in the Netherworld, where they planted a seed of the Netherworld Rules in his Sea of Consciousness before a blood-red hammer and an Azure Figure attacked them.
• Haotian ordered his companions to guard the Netherworld’s gate and protect the Netherworld Godhood as part of the God King’s plan.
• Lin Qing woke in his bedroom, discovered he had reached level forty, and said farewell to Grandma Lin, who refused his Gold Card.
• Lin Qing bought supplies in Star Luo City, then flew north toward the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for a Soul Ring.
• After two days of cautious travel, Lin Qing reached the area near the Star Dou Great Forest.

Lin Qing hunted metal-attribute soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest with his Gold Luring Device and soul tools, then recognized Huo Yuhao during a fight with a wind baboon. The chapter ended with Huo Yuhao killing the beast and gaining a white soul ring.

• Lin Qing activated his Gold Luring Device to attract metal-attribute soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest.
• Lin Qing killed a troop of steelback apes with his Finger Gun, Bee Swarm soul tool and finished the Steelback Ape King with a shot.
• Lin Qing fought off four more groups of soul beasts, found no soul bones, and continued searching for a suitable fourth soul ring.
• Lin Qing sensed a battle nearby and rushed toward it after detecting a powerful soul tool with one of the combatants.
• Huo Yuhao used the White Tiger Dagger to kill a ten-year wind baboon and gained a white soul ring.

Huo Yuhao fused with the million-year Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, gaining a Wisdom Soul Ring as he pursued a way to avenge his mother. Lin Qing awakened a gray longsword and became the vessel for Electrolux, and the chapter ended with Huo Yuhao meeting Tang Ya and Bei Bei while recognizing Lin Qing.

• After defeating the Wind Baboon, Huo Yuhao resolved to venture deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest to find a mental-type soul beast and gain the strength to avenge his mother.
• The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm emerged from the ground and forcibly fused with Huo Yuhao, sealing his power and beginning to form a Wisdom Soul Ring.
• Electrolux appeared in the sky, but Lin Qing's reincarnation-infused sword took shape and let him resist the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's spiritual field.
• Electrolux chose Lin Qing as his vessel, merging his remnant soul with the gray sword and stabilizing himself through its power of reincarnation.
• The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm explained his identity and gifts to Huo Yuhao, who became hopeful about avenging his mother.
• Tang Ya and Bei Bei arrived, Tang Ya tended Huo Yuhao's wounds, and Bei Bei thanked Lin Qing for looking after him.

Huo Yuhao joined Tang Ya and Bei Bei after revealing he had become a one-ring soul master, while Lin Qing parted ways with them to seek his missing sister, Lin Lan. Later, Lin Qing’s soul-tool bait drew a Bronze Hellfire Dragon into the forest, and the dragon’s arrival left the Tang Sect trio facing a dangerous spectacle.

• Tang Ya offered to escort Huo Yuhao and invited him to join the Tang Sect after he revealed his white soul ring and explained he had no family.
• Lin Qing told Bei Bei that he was searching for Lin Lan, and Bei Bei reacted with alarm because Lin Lan had been involved in a deadly soul-hunting mission six months earlier.
• Lin Qing declined Tang Ya’s invitation to travel together and headed off alone, while Huo Yuhao chose to join Tang Ya and Bei Bei.
• Tang Ya, Bei Bei, and Huo Yuhao followed the metal-attribute soul beasts toward a suspected treasure and discovered Lin Qing had killed a three-thousand-year Diamond Bear using a soul tool as bait.
• The Tang Sect trio sensed rising heat and saw a Bronze Hellfire Dragon descend toward Lin Qing’s lure, setting the surrounding forest ablaze.

Lin Qing trapped the Bronze Hellfire Dragon and used his ultimate metal martial soul, soul tools, and Steel Machinery Domain to overpower its bronze domain. He unleashed the Dragon Devourer Cannon and pursued the dragon through its ultimate attack, leaving the battle poised for a decisive finish.

• The Bronze Hellfire Dragon attacked Lin Qing with Explosive Flame Dragon Breath, but Lin Qing blocked it with the Machinery King Shield and overpowered the dragon’s Bronze Forest domain with his Steel Machinery Domain.
• Lin Qing restrained the dragon with Machinery Growth and Snake-Guide Bullets while firing Bee Swarm; the dragon broke free by unleashing its flames, endangering Tang Ya, Bei Bei, and Huo Yuhao.
• Tang Ya and Bei Bei explained soul tools to Huo Yuhao, while the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm identified Lin Qing’s martial soul as ultimate metal and described its rarity.
• The Bronze Hellfire Dragon used Bronze Purgatory to rain bronze meteors down on Lin Qing, who combined his twin Dragon Devourer guns into the Dragon Devourer Cannon and destroyed the meteors with a silver flame dragon.
• Lin Qing used Elemental Transformation to pass through the falling bronze fragments and pursue the fleeing Bronze Hellfire Dragon, reaching it in the air.

Lin Qing killed the Bronze Hellfire Dragon, absorbed its Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, and traveled to Shrek City to find his older sister, Lin Lan. At Sea God Pavilion, Zhang Lexuan learned Lin Qing had arrived and insisted that she should bear responsibility for the Star Dou tragedy.

• Lin Qing severed the Bronze Hellfire Dragon's wing, fatally wounded it, and carried it away while the Tang Sect trio watched.
• Lin Qing secured the area with explosive Soul Tool bombs, absorbed the Bronze Hellfire Dragon's Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, and harvested the beast before setting out for Shrek City.
• At Shrek Academy's eastern gate, Lin Qing told Du Weilun that he had come to see his older sister, the Inner Court student Lin Lan.
• Du Weilun went to Sea God Pavilion and told Zhang Lexuan that Lin Qing was waiting at the admissions office and that the Outer Court needed guidance.
• Zhang Lexuan stood after kneeling for seven days and told Du Weilun she would bear the blame for the Star Dou tragedy.

Lin Qing learned that his sister Lin Lan had died in a disastrous Soul Hunting Operation and blamed Shrek Academy and Taotie Douluo for failing to protect her. He left with Lin Lan’s belongings, while Zhang Lexuan remained to face the families and asked Bei Bei to persuade Taotie Douluo to return to his duties.

• Zhang Lexuan told Lin Qing that Lin Lan had stayed in Shrek’s Inner Court to help another student and had been killed six months earlier during a Soul Hunting Operation in the Star Dou Great Forest.
• Lin Qing condemned Taotie Douluo for losing track of the students and arriving too late, then took Lin Lan’s belongings and left Shrek Academy.
• Zhang Lexuan watched Lin Qing depart and realized he would not rest until he or Shrek Academy and Taotie Douluo were dead.
• Bei Bei visited Zhang Lexuan after bringing Huo Yuhao to Shrek and learned that Lin Qing had already left after hearing about Lin Lan’s death.
• Zhang Lexuan asked Bei Bei to urge Taotie Douluo to leave seclusion, then decided to visit the other students’ families and deliver their death notices.

After Lin Lan’s death, Lin Qing planned to enter the Sun Moon Empire to grow stronger and eventually take revenge on Shrek Academy, while keeping Grandma Lin safe and unaware of the truth. Electrolux revealed that the Nether Emperor Sword had chosen Lin Qing as its wielder, and they prepared to enter the Netherworld to confront its invaders and search for Lin Lan’s soul.

• Lin Qing wrote Grandma Lin a reassuring letter, concealed Lin Lan’s death, and explained that he planned to travel and study soul engineering.
• Lin Qing chose to cross into the Sun Moon Empire through the Heaven Dou Empire, intending to establish himself there before bringing Grandma Lin to Mingdu.
• Electrolux appeared in Lin Qing’s Sea of Consciousness, explained how his consciousness had merged with the reincarnation-law seed, and warned Lin Qing not to let hatred consume him.
• Lin Qing drew the Nether Emperor Sword into the physical world and learned that the super divine artifact had become his second martial soul.
• Lin Qing sensed that the Netherworld had nearly fallen to invaders from the Divine Realm and that it had entrusted the sword to him as a final effort to resist them.
• Electrolux opened a gate to the Netherworld, and Lin Qing prepared to enter with his protection and search for Lin Lan’s soul.

Lin Qing entered the Netherworld with Electrolux and discovered that invaders had altered reincarnation to strip spiritual essence from souls, threatening the Douluo Continent’s path to godhood. He fought through a pack of hellhounds to reach the Reincarnation Gate, but the Three-Headed Hellhound emerged as its guardian.

• Electrolux explained that a grand formation was stealing spiritual essence from souls during reincarnation, weakening the potential of those reborn on the Douluo Continent.
• Lin Qing headed for the Reincarnation Gate to find Lin Lan’s soul and encountered a pack of hellhounds guarding the way.
• Lin Qing unleashed the Underworld Emperor Rebirth Domain, summoning ancient nether souls that battled the hellhounds.
• Lin Qing killed the powerful lead hellhound with the Nether Emperor Sword and used its Death Grant ability to turn the rest of the pack into gray crystal.
• A hidden hellhound attempted to ambush Lin Qing from behind, but he cut it down without turning around.
• Electrolux pulled Lin Qing away from the Reincarnation Gate as the Three-Headed Hellhound emerged from it and confronted them.

Lin Qing and Electrolux escaped the Netherworld after fighting the Three-Headed Hellhound, while Yu Xiaogang sent Ning Fengzhi and the Douluo elders to guard the Myriad Spirits Grand Formation. In Tianming City, Lin Qing joined the Ordinary Commerce Association’s caravan to Mingdu in exchange for permanent residency, and a golden-clad newcomer approached to enlist.

• The Three-Headed Hellhound attacked Lin Qing, but Electrolux summoned a Bone Dragon that shattered Hell-Rending Fangs and wounded the hound.
• Lin Qing and Electrolux opened a spatial gate and returned to the Douluo Continent, planning to strengthen themselves and gather allies before rescuing Lin Lan.
• Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo consulted Yu Xiaogang, who directed them to protect the Myriad Spirits Grand Formation and left the Reincarnation Gate to the Golden Iron Triangle and Hellhound clan.
• In Tianming City, Shangguan Ying'er recruited Soul Elders to escort the Ordinary Commerce Association’s caravan to Mingdu after attackers had massacred other caravans.
• Lin Qing tested at level forty-two and accepted a guard position, asking Shangguan Ying'er to help him obtain permanent residency in the Sun Moon Empire.
• A golden-clad figure approached the recruitment table and said they would sign up as a guard too.

Lin Qing and Ye Guyi joined the Ordinary Commerce Association’s caravan crossing into the Sun Moon Empire, where they bonded over food before Wolf Bandits attacked. As the outnumbered caravan prepared to fight, Lin Qing and Ye Guyi rose into the sky with their wings and soul rings displayed.

• Ye Guyi joined the caravan after revealing her level-forty-five soul power, and the party set out across the border toward the Sun Moon Empire.
• Lin Qing and Ye Guyi escaped their companions’ attention and bonded over Lin Qing’s meat-stuffed shaobing at the evening camp.
• Wolf Bandits attacked the caravan during the night watch, and Shangguan Ying'er ordered the guards to defend the wagons.
• Shangguan Ying'er and the guards armed themselves as the vastly outnumbered bandits charged from the forest.
• Lin Qing and Ye Guyi ascended above the caravan with their mechanical and angelic wings spread and four soul rings each.

Lin Qing and Ye Guyi helped the Ordinary Commerce Association’s caravan fight off a pack of Wolf Bandits, defeating their Soul Emperor-level Gale Twin-Headed Wolf Bandit leader with the Holy Angel’s power and Lin Qing’s Machine Combustion. After the battle, Lin Qing found a ten-thousand-year Gale Twin-Headed Wolf Bandit left leg soul bone among the corpses.

• Lin Qing and Ye Guyi joined the caravan’s defense, using machine-element soul tools and holy light to cut down the Wolf Bandits.
• The Gale Twin-Headed Wolf Bandit leader flew into battle and unleashed its Wind Blade Array against Lin Qing and Ye Guyi.
• Lin Qing activated his fourth soul skill, Machine Combustion, while Ye Guyi used Holy Light Spirit Array to meet the leader’s Gale Combo Slash.
• The Dragon Devourer Cannon broke through the leader’s wind blades and blasted away its right side and one head, turning the battle in the caravan’s favor.
• Shangguan Ying'er offered Lin Qing an invitation to spend the night with the women, but he focused on dissecting the Wolf Bandits instead.
• Lin Qing found a ten-thousand-year Gale Twin-Headed Wolf Bandit left leg soul bone in the leader’s corpse.

After the caravan reached Mingdu, Lin Qing and Ye Guyi discussed justice, the Ordinary Alliance, and their plans in the Sun Moon Empire. They stayed in the city to collect residence permits, then chose the Rose Hotel as their lodging.

• The Soul Masters restrained their greed for the Gale Twin-Headed Wolf Bandit's Soul Bone after Hu San and Shangguan Ying'er reminded them that Lin Qing and Ye Guyi had earned it.
• Lin Qing offered Ye Guyi payment for her share of the Soul Bone, and she asked him to make her a custom soul-guided sword instead.
• Ye Guyi explained that she had come to Sun Moon to root out an organization recruiting Evil Soul Masters, and she urged Lin Qing to join her pursuit of justice.
• Several days later, Shangguan Ying'er led the caravan safely into Mingdu, where most of the guards collected their pay and left while Lin Qing and Ye Guyi stayed to obtain residence permits.
• Lin Qing declined Shangguan Ying'er's invitation to the Ordinary Alliance headquarters, and he and Ye Guyi agreed to return for their permits in three days.
• Lin Qing and Ye Guyi found the Rose Hotel and decided to stay there for the night.

Lin Qing and Ye Guyi reached Mingdu, stayed at the Rose Hotel, and decided to apply to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy while hiding Ye Guyi’s Holy Angel identity. They planned to buy a residence as a base for their work, and Ye Guyi entrusted Lin Qing with her savings to find their future home.

• Lin Qing and Ye Guyi checked into the Rose Hotel’s yellow-rose-themed Golden Branch and Jade Leaves room after the receptionist claimed it was the only one available.
• Ye Guyi and Lin Qing shared the room, took turns showering, and discussed their next plans after arriving in Mingdu.
• Lin Qing said he would apply to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy to cultivate and develop his Soul Engineering skills.
• Ye Guyi decided to apply with Lin Qing and use a secret art to disguise her Holy Angel Martial Soul as a Swan while searching for Evil Soul Masters.
• Lin Qing proposed buying a residence in Mingdu as a private base and planned to bring his grandmother from Star Luo City after joining the next Soul Master Tournament team.
• Ye Guyi gave Lin Qing her savings to buy their future residence, describing plans for underground chambers, workshops, and a garden of yellow roses.

Lin Qing and Ye Guyi secured permanent residency, bought Zhanghua Garden, and applied to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. They met senior guide Meng Hongchen, who explained the academy’s grade-skipping assessment as they arrived at the physical examination room.

• Lin Qing told Ye Guyi that the Ordinary Alliance had obtained permanent resident cards for them, and they collected their cards before leaving the Rose Hotel.
• Lin Qing and Ye Guyi moved into Zhanghua Garden, which Ye Guyi had helped buy with her savings, and then headed to apply to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
• Meng Hongchen spotted Lin Qing among the applicants, introduced herself as a senior guide, and offered to take him and Ye Guyi to the assessment site.
• Meng Hongchen explained that overage applicants could attempt a grade-skipping assessment by building a soul tool and fighting a senior student, though they could instead rely on their martial souls.
• Meng Hongchen led Lin Qing and Ye Guyi to the physical examination room, where teachers would record their age and soul power before assigning opponents.

Lin Qing and Ye Guyi took the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy’s advancement assessment, where Lin Qing revealed his machine element and impressed Director Lin with his apparent ultimate-metal talent. Xiao Hongchen heard that Meng Hongchen liked a new student who looked like him and went to investigate, only to find Lin Qing’s appearance was nothing like his own.

• Ye Guyi’s examination showed physical strength and resilience far beyond her Level 45 soul power, while Lin Qing’s scan set off alarms when his machine element interfered with the device.
• Lin Qing claimed his martial soul was the ultimate machine element and described how he used it to control metal and devour rare metals, convincing Director Lin to lead the pair to the advancement assessment.
• Lin Qing and Ye Guyi began making soul tools, and Lin Qing eagerly chose rare metals and carved a pattern into radiant fine gold.
• An Ai Xiao member told Xiao Hongchen that Meng Hongchen had taken an interest in a new student whose looks were supposedly too close to his to call.
• Xiao Hongchen went to the testing area and saw Lin Qing, then silently challenged the follower’s description of their resemblance.

Lin Qing completed the peak Class 4 Aurora Sword through the power of ultimate metal, impressing the academy and overwhelming Xiao Hongchen with its elemental pressure. Ye Guyi then began her combat assessment, where she defeated Tang Gang by taking the fight into the air.

• Xiao Hongchen refused to serve as Lin Qing's assessment opponent, insisting that their battle deserved a grander venue, while Meng Hongchen accused him of being afraid.
• Lin Qing used Metal Sublimation to transform rare metals and craft the Aurora Sword, whose power Lin Jiayi judged comparable to a Class 6 soul tool.
• Lin Jiayi began the combat assessments and matched Ye Guyi against fifth-year student Tang Gang.
• Tang Gang blocked Ye Guyi's opening attack with a Class 4 Soul Tool Shield, then used his Lone Bamboo martial soul to vault into the air and deploy his Flying Soul Tool.
• Tang Gang fired a barrage of soul guidance rays, but Ye Guyi revealed her Bright Swan disguise, flew through the barrage, and struck him down with her sword.

Ye Guyi passed her advanced assessment, and Lin Qing stunned the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy by defeating Lan Xiu with his machine-element martial soul and transforming Lan Xiu’s Soul Tools. Lin Jiayi then decided to give the two Douluo émigrés an additional allegiance test before admitting them.

• Ye Guyi defeated Tang Gang in her advanced assessment, and Lin Jiayi wrote a report recommending that the academy cultivate her.
• Lin Jiayi called Lan Xiu to assess Lin Qing, while Xiao Hongchen watched to study Lin Qing’s fighting style.
• Lin Qing revealed four soul rings with an unprecedented configuration, and Lan Xiu attacked with his Level 4 Soul Tool, Nine Radiances.
• Lin Qing used his machine elements to seize three spheres of Nine Radiances, sublime them, and turn their stronger Rebound Rays against Lan Xiu.
• Lan Xiu lost control of Nine Radiances, but Lin Qing returned the transformed spheres to him after winning the match.
• Lin Jiayi praised Lin Qing’s abilities and decided to administer an allegiance test to Lin Qing and Ye Guyi because they were émigrés from Douluo.

Lin Qing and Ye Guyi joined the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy after assuring Lin Jiayi that they had no hidden motives. Jing Hongchen learned that Lin Qing possessed Ultimate Metal, arranged generous benefits and discreet observation for him, and decided to launch a special class in three months.

• Lin Jiayi awarded Lin Qing and Ye Guyi Level 4 Soul Engineer badges and asked why they had chosen Sun Moon over Shrek Academy.
• Ye Guyi gave a hesitant explanation, while Lin Qing bluntly said he had come to advance his cultivation and soul engineering; both swore they had no ulterior motives.
• Lin Jiayi praised the Sun Moon Empire's military strength, placed the two Four-Ring Soul Ancestors in Class 1, Year 5, and gave them their enrollment materials.
• Lin Jiayi reported to Jing Hongchen that Lin Qing possessed Ultimate Metal and could potentially seize control of soul tools on a battlefield.
• Jing Hongchen dismissed the spy concern, doubled Lin Qing's rare-metal allowance, opened the Metal World cultivation site to him for free, and ordered discreet observation.
• Jing Hongchen ordered a special class to begin in three months, then celebrated alone after Lin Jiayi left.

Lin Qing and Ye Guyi transferred into Class 1, Year 5 at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, where Meng Hongchen eagerly welcomed Lin Qing and Xiao Hongchen vowed never to use his Soul Tools. After their first morning of lessons, Zhou Qin announced that an academy-wide assessment would select students for a special class in three months.

• Lin Qing apologized to Ye Guyi with an Aurora Sword, and they went to breakfast together as first-grade honors students.
• Meng Hongchen asked Xiao Hongchen about the transfers, while he vowed never to use a Soul Tool made by Lin Qing.
• Lin Qing and Ye Guyi introduced themselves to Class 1, Year 5, and took the two empty seats beside Meng Hongchen.
• Zhou Qin began teaching near-Level 5 soul engineering theory; Lin Qing followed along while Ye Guyi struggled with the lesson.
• After class, Zhou Qin announced that an academy-wide assessment in three months would select students for a special class.

Zhou Qin announced the selection tournament and its rewards, while Lin Qing formed closer ties with his classmates and prepared for the assessments. At the library, he met Kong Deming without realizing who he was, and the chapter ended with the librarian identifying the visitor as Master Kong.

• Zhou Qin explained the three assessments, tournament rules, and benefits for the thirty students selected for the special class, including a mystery grand prize.
• Lan Xiu paid Lin Qing a million Gold Soul Coins and offered him Nine Radiances to modify with ultimate metal.
• Lin Qing encouraged Ye Guyi to prepare for the selection tournament with him and considered gathering allies to oppose Shrek Academy.
• Lin Qing and Ye Guyi went to the library, where Lin Qing borrowed a book by Kong Deming and secretly confiscated the scandalous Song of Ice and Snow.
• Kong Deming advised Lin Qing to study more suitable soul engineering books, then visited the library service desk, where the librarian recognized him as Master Kong.

Kong Deming learned that Lin Qing possessed ultimate metal and moved to claim him as his disciple, while Lin Qing and Ye Guyi studied together at the academy. After five devoted Xiao Hongchen fans confronted Lin Qing over their idol’s lost smile, he faced their challenge.

• Kong Deming visited Zhang Bin and learned that eleven-year-old Lin Qing had ultimate metal, a rank-forty-two cultivation, and Level 4 Soul Engineer skills.
• Kong Deming decided Lin Qing should become his heir, recognized him from his student records, and went to confront Jing Hongchen.
• Lin Qing and Ye Guyi spent the day studying soul engineering in the academy library and planned special tutoring at Zhanghua Garden over the weekend.
• Lin Qing and Ye Guyi walked to the Mimicry Training Grounds, then separated at a fork in the path.
• Lin Qing revealed that five students had followed them, and the group declared themselves the Five Spirit Kings who loved Xiao Hongchen’s smile.

Lin Qing defeated the Five Spirit Kings of Ai Xiao after they attacked him to support Xiao Hongchen, who made them apologize and then challenged Lin Qing to a future duel. At Metal World, the two competed to absorb metal energy, and Lin Qing’s Machine Element overwhelmed Xiao Hongchen’s Three-Legged Golden Toad.

• The Five Spirit Kings of Ai Xiao attacked Lin Qing with coordinated soul skills, but he broke through their assault and knocked them down before disarming their towering melee fighter.
• Xiao Hongchen arrived, rebuked his fans for attacking Lin Qing, and ordered them to apologize; Lin Qing forgave them and let them leave.
• Xiao Hongchen introduced himself and challenged Lin Qing to fight at the All-Academy Selection Tournament three months later, but Lin Qing suggested a wager of rare metals and Xiao Hongchen rejected it.
• Xiao Hongchen escorted Lin Qing to Metal World’s ninth level, where he explained that the academy’s resources would help Lin Qing overcome the cultivation bottleneck faced by ultimate martial souls.
• Xiao Hongchen proposed a contest to absorb metal energy, but Lin Qing’s Machine Element swept up the energy on the ninth level and even drained it from the Three-Legged Golden Toad’s throat.